RON CARTER

With more than 2,500 albums to his credit, Carter may well be the most recorded bassist around. He is equally successful as a leader and a supportive collaborator, anchoring extraordinary and varied sessions with commanding technique and impeccable taste. He has recorded with many of the greatest names in music: Oliver Nelson, Tommy Flanagan, Gil Scott-Heron, Gil Evans, Lena Horn, James Brown, Coleman Hawkins, Bill Evans, Carlos Santana, Aretha Franklin, Sonny Rollins, Paul Simon, Janis Ian, Bette Midler, Benny Goodman, George Benson, B.B. King, Eric Gale, Johnny Hodges, Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Kronos Quartet, Dexter Gordon, Helen Merrill, J.J. Johnson, Benny Golson, Sir Roland Hanna, Stan Getz, and Jessye Norman. He later toured Europe with Cannonball Adderley. From 1963 to 1968, he was a member of the classic and acclaimed Miles Davis Quintet. He was named Outstanding Bassist of the Decade by the Detroit News, Jazz Bassist of the Year by Downbeat magazine, and Most Valuable Player by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In 1993 Ron Carter earned a Grammy award for Best Jazz Instrumental Group, the Miles Davis Tribute Band and another Grammy in 1998 for Call ‘Sheet Blues’, an instrumental composition from the film ‘Round Midnight. In addition to scoring and arranging music for many films, including some projects for Public Broadcasting System, Carter has composed music for A Gathering of Old Men, starring Lou Gosset Jr., The Passion of Beatrice directed by Bertrand Tavernier, and Blind Faith starring Courtney B. Vance. Carter shares his expertise in the series of books he authored, among which are Building Jazz Bass Lines and The Music of Ron Carter; the latter contains 130 of his published and recorded compositions.

Ron’s many awards include citations by the Jaoan All-Star Jazz Poll and the Swing Journal Readers Poll. He was voted Outstanding Bassist of the Decade by the Detroit News and Jazz Bassist of the Year by Downbeat magazine. He was also named Most Valuable Player, Acoustic Bass, by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. His solo bass recording of the Bach Cello Suites on compact disc was certified Gold in 1988.

“Education has always served to increase my awareness,” says Carter. “Teaching helps me better understand what it is that I do.The students walk away with the history of string bass; they become more cognizant of jazz history. Also, their questions – about jazz publishing, copyright laws, and recording contracts – are answered firsthand.”

Carter earned a bachelor of music degree from the Eastman School in Rochester and a master’s degree in double bass from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He has also received two honorary doctorates, from the New England Conservatory of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, and was the 2002 recipient of the prestigious Hutchinson Award from the Eastman School at the University of Rochester. Most recently he was honored by the French Minister of Culture with France’s premier cultural award–the medallion and title of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, given to those who have distinguished themselves in the domain of artistic or literary creation and for their contribution to the spread of arts and letters in France and the world.
Carter has lectured, conducted, and performed at clinics and master classes, instructing jazz ensembles and teaching the business of music at numerous universities. He was Artistic Director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Studies while it was located in Boston and, after 18 years on the faculty of the Music Department of The City College of New York, he is now Distinguished Professor Emeritus although, as a performer, he remains as active as ever.

 

Golden Striker Trio

Among Ron Carter’s different projects there’s his work with the Golden Striker Trio where he plays the double bass all together with Donald Vega at the piano and Russel Malone at the guitar.

Classically-trained in his native Nicaragua, Vega emigrated to the United States at age 14 and began learning the language of jazz from mentor Billy Higgins at The World Stage and later with bassist John Clayton at the University of Southern California. He went on to graduate from Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School where he studied with piano great, Kenny Barron. Vega currently performs internationally as the pianist for world renowned bassist Ron Carter’s Golden Striker Trio. Vega’s debut album, Tomorrows, was released in 2008 to rave reviews. In his sophomore album, Spiritual Nature, he is joined by the regal rhythm tandem of bassist Christian McBride and drummer Lewis Nash, where he explores the marriage of jazz, Latin and classical music. Spiritual Nature was released on the Resonance Records label August 2012.

Russell Malone – born November 8, 1963 – is an essentially self taught swing and bebop jazz guitarist. He began working with Jimmy Smith in 1988, and went on to work with Harry Connick, Jr. and Diana Krall throughout the 1990s.
Malone was born in Albany, Georgia. He began playing at the age of four with a toy guitar his mother had bought him, influenced by musicians such as B.B. King andThe Dixie Hummingbirds. However, he cites that the most influential musical experience he had as a youth was “At the age of twelve seeing George Bensonperform on television…with Benny Goodman.” He learned technique from listening to recordings of Benson, Wes Montgomery, and Charlie Christian, among others.
Malone played with jazz organist Jimmy Smith from 1988 to 1990. He then joined the Harry Connick Jr. Big Band from 1989 to 1994. In 1995, Malone became part of the Diana Krall trio, participating in three Grammy-nominated albums, the final one in 1999, When I Look in Your Eyes, winning Best Vocal Jazz Performance. Malone was part of jazz pianist Benny Green’s recordings in the late 1990s and 2000. The two formed a duo partnership, releasing the live recording, Jazz at The Bistro in 2003, and the studio recording Bluebird in 2004. The duo toured until 2007.
Malone tours regularly as leader of The Russell Malone Quartet, and more recently in support of “Triple Play” (2010) of the Russell Malone Trio. When touring the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe, South America, and Australia, he can be seen in appearances with Dianne Reeves and Romero Lubambo and tours frequently with bassist Ron Carter as part of the Golden Striker Trio. Other special guest appearances have included Malone with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, pianist Hank Jones (in celebration of his 90th birthday). October, 2008, found Russell Malone in duo at Yoshi’s in Oakland, California, with fellow jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. The duo toured once again in February 2009, in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. In 2010, Malone became a member of the band for saxophonist Sonny Rollins, (celebrating his 80th birthday in New York in September).
Malone recorded live on September 9–11, 2005, at Jazz Standard, New York City, and Maxjazz released Live at Jazz Standard, Volume One (2006) and Live at Jazz Standard, Volume Two (2007). Appearing on these two volumes, and touring as The Russell Malone Quartet, were Martin Bejerano on piano, Tassili Bond on bass, and Johnathan Blake on drums. Malone’s 2010 recording Triple Play (also on Maxjazz) was pianoless, featuring David Wong on bass, and Montez Coleman on drums.

Traduzione di Chiara Voltini